What to do if you find weather balloon

Every day, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service launches weather balloons from 102 sites to help with weather forecasting.

The attached radiosondes land in trees, on bridges and in backyards -- sometimes more than 200 miles away from where balloons were launched. While they can make some disconcerting noises and give off a sulfuric (egg-like) smell, a radiosonde and its attached flight equipment are perfectly safe. The unit includes a latex weather balloon that at launch is six feet wide, a radiosonde and twine, a chemical light and an orange parachute.

Even though each one has an addressed, postage-paid return mailbag, the National Weather Service recovers fewer than 20 percent of the 75,000 radiosondes released yearly. The NWS hopes that with education and awareness of the value and importance of upper-air radiosondes, more people will be eager to return them.

Returning radiosondes benefits the environment and saves taxpayer dollars by recycling the units for reuse. If you find a weather balloon and its radiosonde package in your neck of the woods, there's no need to fear; please return it to NOAA's National Weather Service.

For more information about NWS weather balloons, visit www.weather.gov/okx/Tour_Weather_Balloon

-- Anna McCartney